To think this is a manufacturing fault and not wear & tear?

[chicaguapa]

I know this is the same old thread about school shoes not being fit for purpose and not lasting a reasonable amount of time. This one has photos though.

DS's Geox shoes were bought in August from an independent shoe shop for £49. He has never got through a pair of school shoes before. Sometimes he doesn't even get new shoes in September as the old shoes still fit.

The leather has come away from the seam with the rubber. We took them back to the shop and they said 'wear and tear' yadda yadda. They point blank refused to enter into any dialogue about it at all. I've attached a photo for the MN jury as I think it's not usual wear and tear but a manufacturing fault. You can see that the leather hasn't scuffed, it's come apart.

I have tweeted and facebooked Geox for their comments. I've also told them that the shoe shop states this is reasonable wear and tear, even for Geox (subtext, the shoe shop says Geox are no better than any other brand).

It doesn't help to support independent shoe shops either, does it? DD is hellish with shoes and I've taken hers back into Clarks on occasion and they've either replaced them or given me 50% off a new pair.

[GhoulWithADragonTattoo]

It looks like the leather has come away from sole and I think does seem to be a manufacturing fault.

[LineRunner]

OH had this exact same problem at Schuh. Rude buggers, pretended to be unaware of the Sale of Goods Act.

He persevered and got his money back by threatening to go to Trading Standards!

[fascicle]

Unless the shoes are too small (i.e. your son's toes pushing against the seam), then that is clearly not wear and tear. Whilst it's worth getting Geox's views, your contract is with the retailer. At this stage, I think you may be entitled to a replacement/repair rather than a refund. I would suggest being persistent and quoting the Sale of Goods Act at them - clearly the shoes are not 'of satisfactory quality' and nor are they 'fit for purpose'. You can either go back to the shop and explain your case loudly or write them a formal letter (I'd be inclined to do the former - less easy for them to ignore).

[gobbin]

Exactly the same thing happened avter three months with a pair of my DH's boots bought from Brantano. They replaced them without question. The second pair did exactly the same thing and the next time they gave me a refund.

Read up on the Sale of Goods act, you're covered under that and your contract is with the retailer, not the manufacturer, so don't be fobbed off by the retailer.

[ShatnersBassoon]

OH had this exact same problem at Schuh. Rude buggers, pretended to be unaware of the Sale of Goods Act.

Snap! Schuh staff tried to persuade DH his gait was so unusual that no shoes he wore would hold together under normal use. He's a bit slouchy, but he manages to put one foot in front of the other without attracting attention

Children's shoes should last until they grow out of them. A few weeks at school shouldn't be too much of a test for expensive leather shoes. I think you need to go back to the shop. Be very clear about what you'd like them to do.

[mooseloose]

Hi, I've been to an independent shop today with my sons geox school shoes. There is a hole in the heel, and the sole is cracking. They were bought in September, and I think this is appalling. The owner said the same " oh that's just wear and tear, they just need re heeling". I said um no. I've never had geox before, but I've had 12 months wear from clarks every time, more if they haven't grown out of them. I don't think it's unreasonable to expect school shoes to last a year. The assistant disagreed. They are lovely leather, and look really smart. But they were more expensive, a lot, more than clarks. I went to timson and he said 16 to re heel and sole. But why should I?? I said the assistant ever a cheap pair of ballet pumps last longer than this, and is expect them to. She didn't look impressed. I think I should go back and quote sale of goods. do other think geox should be better than this? Thanks

[mrsseed]

Surprised that Clark's last someone 12 months! I refuse to buy them as they last my daughter a half term before falling apart...not just one pair, lots of them! It's always been like this since she started school
Now I buy her Doc Martins only as although they cost more, they last a whole term before the soles are worn down, so cheaper in end!

[Cabbagesaregreen]

I took back a pair 50£ shoes to independent shop for same issue. She'd had them 2 months. They apologized and agreed they should have lasted longer and swapped. I've sent back geox 50£ to Amazon and got new pair in return.

[RaisingMen]

I would go back.

My son has Clarke and they've always lasted him until he's outgrown them, his current pair were purchased January last year.

[RaisingMen]

Clarks*

[Rivercam]

Clarks always last a year for me.

[prh47bridge]

Agree with fascicle. Just to add that as the shoes are less than 6 months old the problem is assumed to be a manufacturing fault. If you end up taking them to the small claims court it would be up to them to prove that the problem was due to misuse rather than a manufacturing fault. I would be amazed if they could persuade a judge that it was reasonable for a £49 pair of shoes to last less than 6 months with normal wear and tear.

[Gozogozo]

I've had this argument with a local independent shop/small chain (Johnsons). In my ds's case, school shoes were only 1month old but sole detached from upper. They were tough about it and insisted that boys playing football was the cause...my ds refused to play football at school; it was in fact a major problem for us and him.
I got precisely nowhere but took my custom away from them & certainly didn't hold back if shoes came up as a topic locally!

[TheWrathofNaan]

I had a problem with a pair of shoes from an independent shoe shop in Canterbury (NOT the Elves and the Shoemaker- the OTHER one!). They had holes from the inside right through to the soles after less than six months. The shoes cost £53

The shop wrote me the most poorly written and unapologetic reply basically saying what did I expect.

I will never shop there again and I had previously used them for every pair of shoes my two children had had since birth.

[Pipbin]

Interesting.
I bought myself (teacher) some school boots from Next in August and the toes have scuffed already. My last pair from them lasted me two years.
Do you think it's worth me trying to take them back?

[WeAllHaveWings]

Ds's geox shoes used to last the whole year or until he outgrew them and I thought they were brilliant, until he got to p2 and started being a bit harder on them (not excessive) and I realised they were no better than other shoes and only lasted a term at most (usually sole wears through or breaks away from shoe).

[chicaguapa]

I went back to the shop and asked them to show me how wear & tear had contributed to the leather splitting as I couldn't see the connection. After a fair amount of going round in circles, they offered to send them to Geox, which I took them up on, but they ended up just giving me another pair of shoes instead. I bought some Ricosta shoes for an extra £9. I asked how long it was reasonable to expect a pair costing nearly £60 to last. She said it depended on how much they were worn.

[CurlyhairedAssassin]

That looks like a definite manufacturing fault to me and I would be pushing for a refund.

My boys play a hell of a lot of football at school in their Clark's shoes and im lucky to get a term out of them. (Not because they've grown out of them but because they've worn them out. They're in junior school and it didn't used to happen in infants.It's bloody annoying and I blame the football playing completely)

[fascicle]

Rubbish service, but well done on getting a result, chicaguapa.

[GnomeDePlume]

I checked with DH (used to be in shoe trade and knows how shoes are made) his view was that either the leather has split or the shoes werent lasted properly. Either way manufacturing fault.

[SunnySummerDays]

I still need take photos of mine and send them to the shop, I didn't want to leave the shoes because he needed them for school. but when I took them into ti sons for a quote to re heel! he said the heel and soles were a very poor wearing material.